Antiquities Exhibits

"Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments." - Plato In the case of drinking to excess, this change could result in the loss of virtue and well-being or, as the Greek philosophers termed it, Eudaimonia. Plato believed that individuals naturally feel unhappiness when they do something they know and acknowledge to be wrong. Plato's student, Aristotle, agreed that although the pursuit of virtue, excellence, and the best within us was necessary to achieve eudaimonia, virtue in itself was not sufficient alone.   "Aristotle believes that happiness and well-being come from how we live our lives,"   explains psychologist Catherine Moore, "And that's not in pursuit of material wealth, power, or honor." Aristotle expounds upon ways to achieve the happy life in his work "Nichomacean Ethics." "To be honest, a lot of Nichomacean Ethics is a...

Called Janiform after Janus, the two-faced Roman god associated with doorways and beginnings, two-faced head herms, flasks, or vases were produced as early as the 8th century BCE in Athens, though, and a god with two faces appears repeatedly in Sumerian and Babylonian art dating back to the third millenium. The ancient Sumerian deity Isimud was commonly portrayed with two faces facing in opposite directions. Unlike Janus, however, Isimud is not a god of doorways. Instead, he is the messenger of Enki, the ancient Sumerian god of water and civilization. In Hinduism the image of double or four faced gods is quite common, as it is a symbolic depiction of the divine power of seeing through space and time. The supreme god Brahma is represented with four faces. Likewise the Scandinavian god Heimdallr looks similar to Janus and his abode is said to define the limits of the earth and the extremity of heaven. To the Romans, Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress ...